New research examines how digital design tools impact the future of fashion

As generative software becomes increasingly integrated into fashion design practices, new questions are being raised about their impact on both the creative process and aesthetic expression. To find out, the artistic research project "Generative aesthetic systems for fashion – within or beyond the given" funded by the Swedish Research Council is now commencing. Linnea Bågander is the Project Leader, working in the project together with Hanna Landin, Senior Lecturer in Interaction Design at the Swedish School of Textiles, and Karin Peterson, Senior Lecturer at the Design and Crafts Steneby Unit of the University of Gothenburg.

What will you investigate in this project?

“Through the project, we are asking ourselves what generative digital design tools have and can have for impact and significance for fashion as a field. Software is becoming increasingly established in fashion design practice and the project investigates how their implementation affects the design process and its subsequent artefacts.”

Why is it important?

“As the field of fashion design has come to integrate digital processes and virtual results, it is important to ask the question of its subsequent effect on the role, expression, and possibilities of both clothing and the body. What impact does design software have on aesthetics, norms and cultures within and through fashion design and what role should we give them in future developments?”

What are you hoping for when it comes to results?

“At the end of the research project, we hope to present artistic examples, teaching modules, and theoretical discussions that question and reshape fashion as an artistic practice and its role in contemporary society. 

The issues that we address through the project are of importance for fashion as an artistic practice, the research area, and the development of education. We hope to be able to contribute to the development of artistic research environments and that our results will be able to be integrated into fine arts education at universities and colleges.”

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The project is being funded by the Swedish Research Council and will run until 2028.  

Facts: Generative aesthetic systems

Generative aesthetic systems, for example, mean software used in the design process that has built-in aesthetic preferences, suggests formats, and gives choices. Examples of such systems can be the camera in a mobile phone, Adobe Photoshop, or various generative AI models.

Read more about the project Generative aesthetic systems for fashion – within or beyond the given

Read more about the project on the Swedish Research Council's website

Linnea Bågander

Hanna Landin

Karin Peterson

Caption: An AI-generated image depicting “three female researchers in design.” The image reflects the AI system's own assumptions and perceptions of what the participants may look like, which does not necessarily correspond to reality.